The ROI of accessibility: the economic dividend of Design for All

The digital profit and loss account: revenue, costs and risk

On the web, inaccessibility costs money. The 2019 UK Click-Away Pound (opens in a new tab) survey found that 69% of users with disabilities leave websites they find difficult to use: around 4.9 million people, with an estimated spending power of £17.1 billion that, according to the survey, went to more accessible competitors in 2018. The so-called Purple Pound (opens in a new tab), the spending of households that include at least one person with disabilities, is estimated by Scope at around £274 billion a year in the UK (2019).

The implication for e-commerce and digital services is immediate: each barrier can turn into churn, in other words lost customers and lost revenue.

Case study: after the accessible redesign of its website in 2005, Legal & General (UK) (opens in a new tab) recorded a 50% increase in organic traffic, a doubling of quote requests within 3 months, a 66% reduction in maintenance costs and 100% ROI within 12 months. These are the results of a complete redesign, not the effect of accessibility alone; but they show that a website built to be used by everyone is also easier to maintain and to find.

The framework is well established in the W3C (WAI) Business Case for Digital Accessibility (opens in a new tab): the tangible benefits (revenue, costs, productivity) and intangible benefits (brand, risk) derive from inclusion by design. The W3C Accessibility Maturity Model (opens in a new tab) provides the tool for assessing where an organisation stands and for bringing accessibility into governance, rather than relegating it to end-of-process fixes.

EU strategic note: since 28 June 2025 the European Accessibility Act (EAA) (opens in a new tab) has applied to products and services (including e-commerce and mobile); in Italy it is transposed by Legislative Decree 82/2022, which provides for fines of €5,000 to €40,000 and the withdrawal of non-compliant products from the market. By harmonising requirements, it reduces the costs of fragmentation and opens up the cross-border market. It is an economic driver, not only a regulatory one. Obligations, deadlines and penalties are described in the article European Accessibility Act: what really changes for product design companies.

How to measure the ROI of Design for All

Statements of principle are not enough to convince a board or a CFO: what is needed is a measurement model consistent with the life cycle of a product or service. The ROI of Design for All is structured around five main dimensions, combining quantitative data and qualitative benefits.

The calculation is simple; the hard part is setting it up beforehand. ROI (%) = (economic benefits attributable to the project − cost of the project) / cost of the project × 100. You need a measured baseline, stated objectives and an observation period: completed purchases or bookings, support requests, maintenance costs, rework. Benefits should count incremental margins and measured savings, not the potential audience; over several years, timescales and assumptions should be made explicit. Social benefits that do not translate into money are described separately: they are no less real, but they should not be added to revenue.

Accessibility widens the market, including people who were previously excluded. This means reaching more people: more users, more sessions, more tickets sold. In digital, the effect shows up as conversion rate uplift, that is, an increase in the share of completed actions (purchases, sign-ups, donations) when the interface is made clear and usable by everyone (contrast, labels, simple forms). In museums or physical retail, the link is direct: a legible caption or an obstacle-free route tends to increase dwell time and the average value of a visit.

An accessible website or service not only generates more revenue but also costs less over the medium to long term. This is because technical maintenance becomes simpler: an orderly, standards-compliant structure is easier to update, with documented savings of up to 66% (Legal & General). Customer care also becomes lighter: fewer barriers mean fewer calls from users who are stuck, and fewer support tickets. Finally, accessible design avoids retrofit costs: adding ramps, subtitles or accessibility features afterwards is generally more expensive than including them in the design.

Not investing in accessibility today means exposure to concrete risks. The European Accessibility Act has applied since 28 June 2025: companies whose products or services fall within its scope and do not comply can face penalties, and non-compliant products can be withdrawn from the market. Beyond the legal risk there is the reputational one: the WebAIM Million shows that most of the most visited websites are still not accessible. Those who move early gain trust and visibility, especially in the public, cultural and financial sectors.

Integrating Design for All into internal processes makes teams’ work more efficient. An accessible design system, with rules and components that are already inclusive, reduces rework and shortens delivery times. A maturity model, such as the W3C’s, helps to understand at which stage of the process accessibility comes in today, and at which stage it should.

Finally, there is the loyalty dimension. A product that more people can use, in more situations and with little effort, encourages retention: customers stay, recommend it and buy again. In fast-moving consumer goods, the inclusive packaging of P&G and Unilever goes in this direction: it makes the product easier for everyone to use, not only people with disabilities.

The services with which we support companies and public bodies along this path are described on the Design for All services page.

Design for All servicesServices